[mashy]

I own and love my K-S2 (in white it is so, so gorgeous), and it does indeed have built-in WiFi. However, transfering a 20.2 megapixel image over WiFi is no joke.

I can, if I wish do the following:

• Turn on WiFi on my K-S2
  • Turn on both WiFi and 4G LTE data on my Android Galaxy J3 phone
  • Open Ricoh Image Sync
  • Connect phone WiFi to Camera WiFi
• Take three or four photos using either camera buttons or phone interface
  • Transfer photos over to my phone
  • Transferring
  • Transferring
• Upload photos to Social Media using 4G Data so as not to break WiFi Connection to camera
  • Uploading
  • Uploading
  • Uploading
  • Camera falls asleep because I haven't taken a picture in several minutes (WiFi connection breaks)
  • Uploading
• Uploaded! People comment on how nice my photo is.

That's about the length and width of it. Honestly, I find the process quite frustrating. Absolutely, my Pentax lenses outperform my phone camera. But yeesh, not a fun or fast process.

Have you tried NFC at all? Wondering if that’s any better.

[Wasp]

I don't have a Pentax body with Wi-Fi but I do have a Samsung NX1 with it. I find it underwhelming. It works but sometimes it's a hassle to get phone and camera talking. I only use it when I'm really in a hurry. Taking family snapshots is a great use case. For serious photography, I'd much rather pop the SD card into my laptop and take it from there.

[PocketPixels]

Have you tried NFC at all? Wondering if that’s any better.

I have not, but my understanding is that NFC is just an alternate way to do the "handshake" to start the WiFi connection between the camera and the phone. That part is already pretty easy for me. The harder part is the duration of time downloading a few images from my camera to my phone, and then uploading those same images from my phone to some social media site. NFC isn't going to shorten that process.

When you use (Instagram/Facebook/SnapChat/FadPhoto) on your phone, the image starts on the phone, no transfer required. Then, the app usually does some compression or downsampling for a mobile-friendly upload. These two steps are what dissuade me from using Image Sync very often out in the field. You might be able to see similar speed gains if you set your K-S2 to 6MP or even 2MP mode. Those files would be far smaller and would move across the WiFi/ 4G far faster. You'd be losing a lot of the image data, but very few people on the Internet want to see a 20MP image in all its pixel-by-pixel glory.

Please understand, I do think the process works. I just find the process slow and bothersome.

[tonyzoc]

I had a K-S2 (the broken one mentioned by ChristianRock?) And now have a K-70. I had Aperture Block failure with both. I'm not saying is going to happen...but be aware. I failed fixing the K-S2 but did fix my K-70 with the white Japan made solonoid and it works great now. I love both cameras btw. The K-70 is better but obviously more expensive. As for the WiFi...it's, for the most part, not very useful. It's really slow on the K-S2 and only slightly better on the K-70. If you just want to 1 or 2 pics it's ok...but the Image Sync software is awkward at best. I usually transfer images via cable and it's much much faster. WiFi is mostly a gimmick...at least for Pentax. I've used Canon WiFi and they do it very well.

[ramseybuckeye]

FWIW - I tend to use my laptop for photo management but I copy to my phone to post online, primarily because my posts are to Instagram first which then feeds to a facebook page. If you've never tried to post to Instagram from a laptop/pc, it IS possible but not at all user-friendly. Doing from the phone gives me lots of options plus the auto-posting to FB (and other feeds if I choose).

Depending on other uses (ebay or online store, etc.), phone apps may or may not be user friendly than PC browsers. But again - for me, the majority of sharing I do hit the phone then the internet. It's also useful out in the field. I can turn on image sync to download the selected photos to my phone, then turn off wifi to save battery and post some pics - later on in the day, I'll download to laptop.

I rarely post to Instagram anymore because of the horrible interface on the non mobile website. I will probably start again sometime, but just have been too busy with other things to come up with that workflow.

[jatrax]

Honestly, I just find it quicker and easier on my phone.

for me, the majority of sharing I do hit the phone then the internet.

I feel so old. I thought phones were for, like, phoning people.................

So OK, is there some type of app or internet thingy where pictures on your laptop get automagically moved to your phone? Lightroom CC will do that for you easily. Either from phone to laptop or from laptop to phone. If Adobe does it I would think someone else does as well. I'm assuming you do not use Lightroom, but surely there is a free way to handle that? For any commercial photography automating your workflow is key to reducing the time spent. If you only do something once its no big deal but if you are repeating that dozens or hundreds of times to get your posts up there is room for lots of time savings.

[arkansawyer]

I feel so old. I thought phones were for, like, phoning people.................

So OK, is there some type of app or internet thingy where pictures on your laptop get automagically moved to your phone? Lightroom CC will do that for you easily. Either from phone to laptop or from laptop to phone. If Adobe does it I would think someone else does as well. I'm assuming you do not use Lightroom, but surely there is a free way to handle that? For any commercial photography automating your workflow is key to reducing the time spent. If you only do something once its no big deal but if you are repeating that dozens or hundreds of times to get your posts up there is room for lots of time savings.

There are ways to sync phone to computer; I tend to save just the images I want on the phone to a folder (Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive work) that auto-syncs to the phone. I don't want to use up all the space on the phone so I use the app to save only those photos I want to use on the phone but yeah... Phones should be for calling but who does that anymore? :-) Now phones are more powerful than PC's were 12 years ago, and generally just as buggy as pc's were 12 years ago (or today for that matter).

---------- Post added 08-21-20 at 16:50 ----------

I have not, but my understanding is that NFC is just an alternate way to do the "handshake" to start the WiFi connection between the camera and the phone. That part is already pretty easy for me. The harder part is the duration of time downloading a few images from my camera to my phone, and then uploading those same images from my phone to some social media site. NFC isn't going to shorten that process.

When you use (Instagram/Facebook/SnapChat/FadPhoto) on your phone, the image starts on the phone, no transfer required. Then, the app usually does some compression or downsampling for a mobile-friendly upload. These two steps are what dissuade me from using Image Sync very often out in the field. You might be able to see similar speed gains if you set your K-S2 to 6MP or even 2MP mode. Those files would be far smaller and would move across the WiFi/ 4G far faster. You'd be losing a lot of the image data, but very few people on the Internet want to see a 20MP image in all its pixel-by-pixel glory.

Please understand, I do think the process works. I just find the process slow and bothersome.

I'll 2nd both points. NFC just kickstarts the connection. I tried to use it but once my phone was paired, it was easier just to stop/start the wifi so it connects to the camea. Then the transfer. Often takes 30sec or more per photo - so forget transferring dozens of photos - but I have sat when I had time and copied 8 or 10 to the phone so I could use them immediately even though the laptop was not near. I saw on the forum somewhere a PC application that was supposed to work as ImageSync does but didn't follow through to find it.

Going more off topic, I would like to have something like the Canon EOS Utility that I used at midnight one night several years ago tethered via USB to my Rebel xsi to take moon shots. Getting the focus right on a 15" screen is easier on the moon at night than squinting at the camera screen/viewfinder. ImageSync might would work but my phone screen isn't much bigger - the wife's tablet is a bit larger, but too much trouble to get it working. I could see the use in a studio where you could compose shots while tethered to the camera, showing them to your subjects in real-time, but that doesn't seem to be Pentax's strong area, and I can live without it since the camera so far in my limited experience is superior.

[Joetitch]

Perhaps a second phone set up as a dedicated WiFi to camera and then Bluetooth to main phone. This may allow a more continual workflow and avoid WiFi cut outs?
Just a thought not sure if it would work but doesn't everyone have a spare phone lying about to test the theory?

[mashy]

I have not, but my understanding is that NFC is just an alternate way to do the "handshake" to start the WiFi connection between the camera and the phone. That part is already pretty easy for me. The harder part is the duration of time downloading a few images from my camera to my phone, and then uploading those same images from my phone to some social media site. NFC isn't going to shorten that process.

When you use (Instagram/Facebook/SnapChat/FadPhoto) on your phone, the image starts on the phone, no transfer required. Then, the app usually does some compression or downsampling for a mobile-friendly upload. These two steps are what dissuade me from using Image Sync very often out in the field. You might be able to see similar speed gains if you set your K-S2 to 6MP or even 2MP mode. Those files would be far smaller and would move across the WiFi/ 4G far faster. You'd be losing a lot of the image data, but very few people on the Internet want to see a 20MP image in all its pixel-by-pixel glory.

Please understand, I do think the process works. I just find the process slow and bothersome.

That’s fair enough, it sounds fairly similar to using a WIFi SD card, which I also found slow and bothersome.

[dbs]

Maybe a GR 2 or 3

Both wifi and with an app on phone Ricoh sync.

[mashy]

I feel so old. I thought phones were for, like, phoning people.................

So OK, is there some type of app or internet thingy where pictures on your laptop get automagically moved to your phone? Lightroom CC will do that for you easily. Either from phone to laptop or from laptop to phone. If Adobe does it I would think someone else does as well. I'm assuming you do not use Lightroom, but surely there is a free way to handle that? For any commercial photography automating your workflow is key to reducing the time spent. If you only do something once its no big deal but if you are repeating that dozens or hundreds of times to get your posts up there is room for lots of time savings.

I have Lightroom, both on laptop and phone. But I find I end up simply using airdrop to transfer photos as the automation doesn’t really seem to work instantly, probably because my laptop is quite old. Also I can just use icloud which works better. Still, it means switching my laptop on.
To be clear, this is not my job, it’s how I document my hobby, and with the sewing community being Instagram, and has regular photo challenges, taking good pictures generally gets people looking at those pictures. I post one a day, if that.

But it’s also a camera I would take on holiday, I don’t take my laptop on holiday.
Essentially my question could have been rephrased as ‘ I got an award for a project at work that came with a small bit of extra cash. I want to treat myself to something nice as I worked hard on it. A better camera might make my hobby easier and save time. If it won’t do that then I’ll spend my money on something else’.

Which it sounds like I should as the camera doesn’t really offer more practicality than my k-r with a WiFi SD card. Other than the flip screen as that would save trial and error time.

[UncleVanya]

I own and love my K-S2 (in white it is so, so gorgeous), and it does indeed have built-in WiFi. However, transfering a 20.2 megapixel image over WiFi is no joke.

Jpg? Or raw?

[jatrax]

To be clear, this is not my job, it’s how I document my hobby, and with the sewing community being Instagram, and has regular photo challenges, taking good pictures generally gets people looking at those pictures.

Thanks for that explanation. My wife is also a sewer although it is a business for her. My reply was colored by her process and needs. For your use case I think the phone is the best solution. I'm not all that familiar with new phones but I wonder if there are settings on yours that would allow better photographs? Or perhaps when it is time for a new phone that the camera on it be a strong consideration.

Setting up a camera, starting a laptop, developing an image all to make 1 post per day is I agree a lot of work. Much simpler to use the phone.

[PocketPixels]

Which it sounds like I should as the camera doesn’t really offer more practicality than my k-r with a WiFi SD card. Other than the flip screen as that would save trial and error time.

Congrats on the bonus during these very challenging times. I'm back on this thread to say that the flip screen is amazing. I was perfectly content with my K200D for years. I thought the flip screen in the K-S2 was a silly gimmick. Nope. It allows me to get shots I would not get otherwise. It allows me to put the camera in funny places, to put myself in the shot, or even flip the screen into the camera to protect it when I'm about to stumble down a hiking trail.

[ehrwien]

Happy K-S2 owner for 4 years, though it recently started developing the black picture problem / aperture block failure, though just intermittently so far. I can confirm what the others have said about the wifi feature and its usefulness. File transfers are slow and fiddly. But I'll add that it can be very nice to use a phone or tablet as a second screen away from the camera on which you can see what the camera sees and change settings and trigger the shutter. The movable screen has proven its worth on several occasions.

A peculiar thing about Instagram is that they want people to use the app. I don't know if it has been possible before to upload pictures through the website without an additional program or app, but for me and now it is not. Unless I use tricks, like change my user agent string in the browser to that of a phone or other mobile device, the button to upload pictures won't show. I have tried using this method for a while, but couldn't find my pictures in the search results of the hashtags I used. Upon looking for what the issue may be I found many reports of other people experiencing the same problem. Some said it can happen at certain hours or when using too many hashtags on a post, but that wasn't the case for my pictures and the problem was gone in an instant when I uploaded pictures through the app on the phone.